The Sith

The Sith Order was a sect of dark side Force users bent on destroying the Jedi. They were characterized by their single-minded lust for power and the brutal methods they were willing to use in order to acquire it. The sect existed in many diverse forms throughout galactic history. Originally, the Sith were a humanoid species that interbred with a group of exiled Dark Jedi, but after the rise and fall of that people, the meaning of the word 'Sith' changed. In time, the Sith would not be identified by their race, but by their dedication to the ancient Sith philosophy. There were many factions of the Sith, the most notable being the Sith Empire and the Order of the Sith Lords.

History of the Sith

130,000 BBY – The Sith society begins (that is, the species, and not the Sith cult).

100,000 BBY – The Sith species begin to develop their culture and civilization, their religion begins.

28,000 BBY – Adas rules as King of the Sith. He later led the Sith race to victory over the invading Rakata, but at the cost of his own life, plunging the Sith into civil war.

25,000 BBY The Unification Wars are fought on Tython in between darkness and light. The dark side Force's users are defeated, the Jedi establish their main temple on Ossus, the Old Republic is formed, based on Coruscant. The dark side is forbidden to the Jedi and will not rebel until 500 years later.

24,500 BBY – Xendor and his students leave the Jedi Order in the First Great Schism.

24,400 BBY the First Great Schism ends and the Dark Jedi defeated.

19,000 BBY – A Killik Sith Lord lived on Alsakan, but was driven off when Humans arrived on the world. He fled to Sarafur, where he was buried in a treasure-filled crypt.

7,000 BBY – A group of Jedi break off from the Order, and pioneer the science of dark-side mutations, starting the Second Great Schism—the war known as the Hundred-Year Darkness.

6,900 BBY – Exiled after their defeat during the Hundred-Year Darkness, the Dark Jedi arrive on Korriban, where they interbreed with the Sith natives, and form the Sith Empire. Over the millennia, the empire expands to surrounding systems, including Ziost.

5,000 BBY – Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow is defeated in the Great Hyperspace War, and the Sith Empire collapses ten years later. Sadow flees with his Massassi warriors to Yavin 4.

4,990 BBY – Final collapse of the Sith Empire, following the defeat of Naga Sadow.

4,400 BBY – Jedi Knight Freedon Nadd falls to the dark side, and is trained by the awakened Naga Sadow. Sadow dies at the hand of Nadd, who soon establishes himself as the King of Onderon.

4,250 BBY – The Third Great Schism occurs on Coruscant, resulting the Dark Jedi fleeing to Vultar, where they activate the Cosmic Turbine, causing the Vultar Cataclysm.

(4,000 – 3,998 BBY) — Freedon Nadd's descendants Queen Amanoa and King Ommin lead the Naddist Sith cult in a skirmish with the Jedi during the Beast Wars, and the Freedon Nadd Uprising. The Great Sith War begins. Satal and Aleema Keto are taught Sith teachings by Nadd's spirit. After the defeat of the Naddists, they flee to the Empress Teta system, and form the Krath sect.

3,997 BBY – Exar Kun falls to the dark side. The spirit of Freedon Nadd leads him from Dxun to Korriban, and thence to Yavin IV, where Kun destroys Nadd utterly. There he founds a new Sith order, which he names the Brotherhood of the Sith.

3,996 BBY – Kun takes the fallen Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma, leader of the Krath, as his apprentice. The Brotherhood of the Sith and the Krath fall during the Battle of Yavin IV.

3,961 BBY – Jedi Knight Revan falls under the influence of the dark side after discovering the Trayus Academy on Malachor V, a relic of the mysterious True Sith.

(3,960 - 3,959 BBY) – Revan, hero of the Mandalorian Wars, betrays the Galactic Republic, declares himself Dark Lord of the Sith, and forms a new Sith Empire.

(3,959 - 3,956 BBY) – Darth Revan supplements his forces with a fleet constructed by the Star Forge, and invades the Republic during the Second Sith War. Revan is supposedly killed when his apprentice Darth Malak betrays him, but later reappears as a Jedi, having returned to the light side. Revan leads Republic forces to victory by defeating Malak and destroying the Star Forge. After the Second Sith War, it became common practice for the Sith to append the title "Darth" to their name.

(3,956 – 3,955 BBY) – In the wake of the Battle of Rakata Prime, the First Sith Civil War erupts on Korriban, and virtually wipes out the Sith followers of Revan and Malak.

(3,955 – 3,951 BBY) – Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus and Darth Sion wage a shadow war upon the devastated Republic, but are defeated by the Jedi Exile. A Second Sith Civil War ensues, as the remaining Sith fight over the remnants of their empire.

2,000 BBY – Darth Ruin, another fallen Jedi, forms a new Sith order and begins the New Sith Wars. Lasting a millennium, by 1,466 BBY the New Sith Empire conquers all of known space outside the Colonies.

(2,000 – 1,000 BBY) – The Sith prove to be their own undoing, as internal power struggles destroy their organization. Lord Kaan unites the survivors under the Brotherhood of Darkness, and grants the title of "Dark Lord" to many Sith.

1,000 BBY – Both Jedi and Sith armies are destroyed in the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, leaving Darth Bane the only survivor. To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane institutes the Rule of Two.

(1,000 – 33 BBY) – The Rule of Two continues. Darth Millennial abandons his master, Darth Cognus, and establishes the Prophets of the Dark Side. Darth Vectivus becomes the administrator of a mine on an asteroid near Bimmiel, and builds a mansion there at the heart of a dark-side energy nexus. He lives out the rest of his days there, surrounded by friends and family, and presumably trains his own apprentice. The Muun Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis is found and trained by an unknown Master. Palpatine is trained under the tutelage of Darth Plagueis, and is given the title of Darth Sidious. Palpatine kills his Master in his sleep. He then trains Darth Maul as his own apprentice.

32 BBY – The Sith, who had been in hiding for nearly one thousand years, resurface again when Darth Sidious orchestrates the Battle of Naboo.

19 BBY – Darth Vader becomes Sidious's new apprentice. The Republic falls and the Galactic Empire is established by Darth Sidious. The Sith rule the galaxy once more, from the Core Worlds to Wild Space.

(19 – 1 BBY) – Darth Sidious takes efforts to eradicate the Jedi in the Great Jedi Purge. Some include Roan Shryne and An'ya Kuro.

4 ABY – Vader is turned back to the light side of the Force by Luke Skywalker, resulting in the deaths of both Sidious and Vader, presumed extinction of the Sith order.

11 ABY – The resurrection of Palpatine, who nearly overthrows the New Republic before dying one last time. Another presumed extinction of the Sith order. Exar Kun's spirit is revived on Yavin IV and turns Kyp Durron into a Dark Jedi. Exar Kun is later defeated by the New Jedi Order and Kyp turns back to the Light Side of the Force.

(11 ABY+) – Rumors abound of a last Sith, an Emperor's Hand, named Lumiya. Three decades later, these whispers would prove true.

14 ABY – A Sith cult, the Disciples of Ragnos, attempt to resurrect Marka Ragnos, but are thwarted through the efforts of the New Jedi Order.

The Code

The core of a Sith's power came from emotion. The Jedi taught that fear and anger were negative emotions that must be overcome, but the Sith understood that every living creature was subject to such passions. They believed in harnessing rather than suppressing these natural urges. The Sith did not endeavor to place themselves beyond passions as the Jedi did – on the contrary, they believed that emotion was required in order to attain a holistic understanding of the Force.

However, not all emotions were embraced by the Sith. They, like the Jedi, considered 'love' a dangerous emotion, but for different reasons. The Jedi discouraged love because it led to attachment, but the Sith taught that love led to mercy, which was anathema to them.

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."

The Force in Sith Minds

The dark side of the Force was considered by the Jedi as the element aligned with fear, hatred, aggression, and malice towards all living things. Practitioners and adherents of the dark side of the Force sought to increase their own personal power and destroy or rule those who opposed them. Followers of the dark side usually acted only for themselves. The negative emotions of the dark side increased the strength and abilities of a user, and as a result use of the dark side of the Force was extremely addictive. Galactic history tends to suggest that every time followers of the dark side called on its power, they became more and more attached to the so-called corruption it brought.

The Sith Lord Darth Bane considered the Force to be finite, and thus ideally restricted to the use of the Sith Lord. He eliminated the practice of having vast numbers of Sith at the same time and concentrated the dark side of the Force into two individuals: a Sith Master and an apprentice. This tradition, or "Rule of Two," was in practice with the Sith Order, which underwent a small reformation by Dark Lady Lumiya after the deaths of Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine (the Sith Lords at the time) above Endor.

The Life of a Sith

The term Sith referred to numerous disparate dark side organizations that rose and fell over thousands of years of galactic history. No single entity long survived the vigilance of the Jedi Knights, but even in defeat the ancient Sith teachings proved difficult to suppress. Each time the Jedi Order grew complacent, a Sith cult, brotherhood, order, or empire would arise from the ashes to threaten the galaxy once more. New iterations of the Sith would be linked only tenuously to past traditions through a shared ideology.

Sith Species

The Sith were a species of red-skinned humanoids native to Ziost and Korriban that were enslaved by exiled Dark Jedi. Prior to their discovery, the Sith were divided into a meek and lowly slave class, a skilled and intelligent engineer class, and the warlike Massassi class. Over time, the Sith interbred with the Human Dark Jedi through the practice of Sith Alchemy, and the two peoples became one.

True Sith

The "True Sith" was an obscure and largely unknown order of adherents to the dark side of the Force. Darth Traya told the Jedi Exile that the order had been in existence for tens of thousands of years and were silently waiting in the Unknown Regions during the time of the Jedi Civil War.

According to Darth Traya, the "True Sith" had existed for millennia prior to the rise of the ancient Sith Empire. She and Revan believed that it was they who had goaded the Mandalorians into attacking the Galactic Republic, starting the Mandalorian Wars. Kreia stated that both Malachor V and the graveyard planet, Korriban, had once been planets at the edges of that mysterious Empire, and that while these "True Sith" had forgotten those ancient worlds of the dark side, they would remember.

Massassi

The Massassi were related to the Sith species. Under the rule of the exiled Dark Jedi, many Massassi captives were subject to Sith Alchemy, which resulted in them being more deadly and easier for their Sith masters to control. They were distinguished by bone spurs which erupted from their skin and by their abnormally giant size. They would serve as soldiers for the Sith Empire.

Sith Empire

The Sith Empire was a rich and powerful empire that was established by Dark Jedi banished from the Galactic Republic after their defeat at the Battle of Corbos during the Hundred-Year Darkness. After developing in complete isolation for thousands of years, the Sith eventually rediscovered the Republic. The Dark Lord of the Sith Naga Sadow led the Empire in an invasion during the Great Hyperspace War, but he was defeated. The Sith Empire was believed to have been utterly destroyed by Republic forces in the aftermath of the Second Battle of Korriban.

Brotherhood of the Sith

The Brotherhood of the Sith was a group of Dark Jedi founded by Exar Kun who broke away from the Jedi Order to study Sith techniques. During the Great Sith War, the Brotherhood attempted to conquer the Republic with the aid of the Krath and the Mandalorian Crusaders. The Brotherhood was defeated and virtually exterminated during the Battle of Yavin IV.

Krath

The Krath was a Sith secret society founded by Aleema and Satal Keto, the bored heirs to the Empress Teta system. Following a Krath attack on a Jedi conclave, Ulic Qel-Droma attempted to infiltrate the group, but he failed. He was seduced to the dark side and eventually became the leader of the sect. During the Great Sith War, the Krath became the military arm of Exar Kun's Sith Order and fell with it on Yavin 4.

Sith Empire (Jedi Civil War)

The Emblem of the Sith Empire under Darth Malek

The Sith Empire was temporarily resurrected by the fallen Jedi Revan and Malak. Built upon a hardened core of veterans from the Mandalorian Wars and a host of Jedi converts, the fledgling new galactic power very nearly succeeded in conquering the Republic during the Second Sith War. After the redemption of Darth Revan and the death of Darth Malak, their Empire splintered into factions and eventually collapsed.

Sith Triumvirate

The Sith Triumvirate: Darths Traya, Nihilus and Sion.

The Sith Triumvirate was a brief but deadly Sith Order founded by the former Jedi Kreia, now known as Darth Traya, she took two apprentices of unknown origins and trained many new Sith at the Trayus Academy on Malachor V. After her exile from the Triumvirate the two remaining Sith Lords; Darth Nihilus, and Darth Sion executed the First Jedi Purge.The Sith Triumvirate was a loose alliance of what remained of Darth Revan's Sith Empire. It was solidified sometime after the Battle of Rakata Prime. This organization was comprised of several, if not hundreds of Sith apprentices, Sith Masters and most importantly, Sith Assassins. The members were eventually defeated by the Jedi Exile.

New Sith Empire

The New Sith Empire was founded by Darth Ruin, and was the vast area of galactic territory formed out of the Fourth Great Schism, which the Sith ruled over with an iron fist. Its capital was the planet Roon. At its height during the New Sith Wars, it was even greater than the old Sith Empires of Naga Sadow and Darth Revan; following the Battle of Mizra and during the Republic Dark Age, it encompassed a great percentage of the known Galaxy.

Sometime between 1,010 and 1,006 BBY the New Sith Empire collapsed in a civil war. From the ashes, Kaan established the Brotherhood of Darkness.

Brotherhood of Darkness

Founded by Lord Kaan, the Brotherhood of Darkness (sometimes referred to as the Dark Army) was the last mass gathering of the Sith for nearly 1200 years. An army of over twenty thousand Sith Lords and their followers, its destruction on Ruusan heralded the beginning of a new order.

Order of the Sith Lords

Under the last surviving Sith Lord of that army, Darth Bane, a new Sith Order was created as a result of the devastating Seventh Battle of Ruusan, which saw the annihilation of the previous Sith Order. Bane's Sith Order, known formally as the Order of the Sith Lords, was founded upon the principles of Darth Revan's Holocron, where from he formed the Rule of Two, utilizing stealth tactics and treachery to achieve their means. It would be this Sith Order, and its principles, that would finally triumph over the Jedi and the Galactic Republic nearly 1,000 years later. The Rule of Two would allow his eventual successor, Darth Sidious, to finally triumph over the Jedi and the Republic 1,000 years later.

Korriban

Korriban

Korriban was the sole planet in the Horuset system, located across the galaxy from Koros Major. It was the original homeworld of the Sith species and a sacred planet for the Sith Order, housing the tombs for many ancient and powerful Dark Lords of the Sith, and containing tremendous dark side power.

After the Hundred Year Darkness, the remaining Dark Jedi interbred with the Sith species and ruled the Sith using their Force powers. After the Great Hyperspace War, Korriban was abandoned and became a barren world. It was the site of two Sith Academies, and became the headquarters of the New Sith Order.

At 11 ABY, Palpatine visited the planet once again for the last time, in order to restore his decaying clone body. He conferred with the Sith spirits, who discouraged his decision to try and save his life, offering him a seat among their mummified remains, the tomb-throne reserved for Vader. Darth Sidious insisted that he should live, and the deceased Dark Lords informed him that, although his last body could not be saved, he could survive by using fresh Jedi blood, possessing the newborn Anakin Solo. He did not succeed in his attempt to do so, and lost his final clone body on Onderon shortly after.

The Valley of the Dark Lords during the Battle of Korriban.Later, in 14 ABY a cult known as the Disciples of Ragnos arrived on Korriban under the leadership of the Dark Jedi Tavion Axmis of the Empire Reborn, hoping to resurrect the ancient Sith Lord Marka Ragnos. However, their plans were being slowly uncovered by several Jedi, most notably by Kyle Katarn and his two students, Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin. Eventually, the trails led the Jedi to Korriban. One of the greatest Jedi battles of the time, the Battle of Korriban concluded when Jaden Korr defeated Marka Ragnos's spirit in Tavion's body. The supporting Imperial troops withdrew.

Ranks

The Sith had a clearly defined hierarchy which divided the strong from the weak, but because the Sith order existed in numerous disparate incarnations, the Sith hierarchy did not maintain a single continuous ranking system throughout its history. The Sith hierarchy remained much the same for almost 6,000 years - through the ancient Sith Empire, Exar Kun's Brotherhood of the Sith, and Darth Revan's Sith Empire - until Lord Kaan declared that all of his highest ranking followers in the Brotherhood of Darkness were Dark Lords of the Sith. Like the Jedi and the Old Republic, the Sith underwent a great reformation after the apocalyptic final Battle of Ruusan. The Sith order's destruction inspired Darth Bane to reform the order and decree that there would be only two Sith at a time from that point forward: a Master and an apprentice. Both would bear the title "Dark Lord of the Sith," which would become synonymous with the term "Sith Lord."

The Sith Hierarchies

The Hierarchies changed over time, with new ones being enacted by powerful Dark Lords.

The Sith Empire Period

Dark Lord of the Sith

Dark Lords of the Sith were the greatest and most powerful of the Sith Lords. Up until the reign of Kaan, it was a title that was only given to those that were acknowledged as the leaders of their order, but by the end of the New Sith Wars the title was held by many Sith Lords simultaneously.

Sith Lord

Sith Lords were the leaders of the Sith. They commanded armies of Sith Minions, Acolytes and Warriors during wartime and ruled through a governing body known as the Sith council. Sith Lords used the dark side of the Force to inflict misery, suffering, and corruption. They were also tasked with preserving the lore of the Sith by passing all their knowledge on to their acolytes. While they did not enter combat as often as lesser Sith (preferring to use pawns, servants, or proxies), they were the most fearsome of the Sith as they were the keepers of the Sith's greatest secrets and wielders of its most potent sorceries.

Sith Marauder

Sith Marauders, a variant of the Sith Warriors, were often responsible for the most brutal acts carried out by the Sith. Their training emphasized the aggressive use of a lightsaber rather than the Force. A Sith Marauder's berserk physical prowess was a dark side technique fueled by hatred, rage, and cruelty. Thus, most Marauders could duel an average Jedi toe-to-toe and win easily. Caring little for the subtleties of manipulating others and lacking a deep understanding of the Force, Marauders were often burdened with carrying out the wishes of the Sith Lords.

Sith Warrior

Sith Warrior was a rank of the Sith order before Darth Bane's reform of the Sith Order. They were mid-ranking Sith who generally focused their energies and skills towards battle, spending little time on actual dark side philosophy or other concerns of the "purer" Sith.

Sith Acolyte

Sith Acolyte were Force-sensitive apprentices who had only just started down the dark path under the tutelage of a more experienced Sith.

Sith adept

Sith Adept was a Sith rank during the New Sith Wars, similar to Sith acolyte. The Brotherhood of Darkness trained them in the Dathomir Academy and Iridonia Academy.

Sith Assassin

A Sith Assasin

Specialized Sith minions included Sith Assassins, who preferred to ambush targets from the shadows rather than engaging them in standard combat. Almost always working solo or in small groups, they utilized stealth field generators and the rare art of Force camouflage to launch surprise attacks on their Jedi victims. While some used a lightsaber, most fought with more conventional melee weapons such as force pikes. Darth Traya, Darth Sion, and Darth Nihilus commanded legions of Sith Assassins during the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War, causing the near-extermination of the Jedi Order. The Sith Assassins drew their powers from the Force power of their enemies.

Sith Minion

Sith Minions were the lowliest members of the Sith. Some were not even Force-sensitive, and often worshiped the Sith Lords as gods. Sith Cultists, Sith Assassins and Sith Marauders can be considered examples of Sith Minions. However, the Sith also used soldiers, mercenaries, and conscripts to work for them.

Post-Bane

To ensure the continued survival of the Sith, Bane was forced to put them on the brink of extinction. He instituted the Rule of Two. In Bane's order, both Sith held the title Dark Lord of the Sith. The rule of the two instituted that a master train an apprentice. Once the apprentice was fully trained, he would kill the master and take on the mantle himself and repeat the process. The death of the master is either a ceremonial killing or an assassination.

Sith Master

Sith apprentice

Sith apprentices were Sith neophytes that were studying under the tutelage of a Sith Master. Notable Sith apprentices include Darth Maul, Darth Tyranus and Darth Vader.

Dark Side Adepts

Dark Side Adepts were not technically Sith. These Force-sensitives were chosen and honed by the Sith apprentice. Essentially, adepts were candidates to replace the Apprentice when he or she was killed or ascended to mastery.

Palpatine Era

When Palpatine declared himself Galactic Emperor, the Sith controlled the known galaxy, in a political sense, for the first time. With this new, far-reaching authority came a need for functionaries throughout the Empire who were, to one extent or another, supporters if not adherents of the dark side. Though not Sith in any strict sense, these quasi-Sith minions were known generally as Dark Side Adepts. As Force-sensitive individuals serving the Emperor, they supported his Sith rule by working in the roles of servants, agents, intelligence operatives, military officials, etc. Dark Side Adepts were particularly important when Palpatine was reborn into his clone bodies, six years after his death.

Inquisitors

The Inquisitorius was a secret division of Imperial Intelligence consisting of dark side Force-sensitive agents known as Inquisitors (sometimes also as Inquisitioners), or "truth officers".

Under the control of Darth Vader, these Inquisitors were considered the highest ranking of the Dark Side Adepts, outranking the Emperor's Hands, Prophets of the Dark Side, and lesser Dark Jedi. They reported directly to Emperor Palpatine.

Prophets of the Dark Side

The Dark Side Prophets were an ancient Outer Rim renegade Sith order founded by Darth Millennial. Though not Banist Sith, the Prophets were arguably a kind of true Sith. Darth Sidious rediscovered the group and brought them once again under his control, renaming them the Emperor's Mages.

Emperor's Hands

Emperor's Hands were top-secret special operatives trained in the Force by the Emperor himself. They were so secret they usually had no knowledge of each other. Mara Jade was one of the best-known Emperor's Hands.

Together with the Emperor's Mages, the Emperor's Hands were called the Dark Side Elite.

Imperial Royal Guard

These were hand-picked elite stormtroopers assigned to protect and serve the Emperor directly. Force sensitivity was by no means a requirement. Those with advanced talents, however, were assigned as Sovereign Protectors, and those with even more advanced talents underwent Force training under Dark Jedi tutors.

Dark Jedi

Although the name might imply otherwise, Dark Jedi were not synonymous with Sith, although Darth Vader among others used techniques drawn from the traditions of both the Dark Jedi and the Sith. Dark Jedi were distinguished from the Sith in the fact that Dark Jedi just used the dark side, whereas the Sith abided by the religion and codes passed down through the holocrons. It was much more likely for Dark Jedi to return to the Light (e.g. Kam Solusar). Other notable Dark Jedi included Sora Bulq, Joruus C'baoth, Jerec, and the particularly infamous Asajj Ventress.

Sith throughout History

The Chosen One

Darth Vader

Upon his return to Coruscant, Anakin was reunited with his wife where she informed him of her pregnancy, which he was overjoyed to hear. However, he was later troubled by visions of Padmé dying in childbirth. Dark times followed. To save his wife, Anakin desired to look upon and research holocrons of learned Masters, holocrons that were restricted by all but the Jedi Masters. When Palpatine made Anakin his representative on the Jedi Council, it was like a dream come true, as he naturally assumed that made him a Master, thus giving him access to the restricted holocrons. However, though the other Jedi reluctantly accepted Anakin's placement on the Council, they denied him the rank of Jedi Master, infuriating and frustrating him. After the session a tense Anakin expressed his incensed opinion to Obi-Wan on the matter, working around the fact he needed to be a Master to save his beloved.

Further severing his trust in them, the Council urged Anakin to keep tabs on Palpatine, although Obi-Wan was against this decision. This led Anakin to lose his respect for the members of the governing body, a mistrust and plaguing uncertainty that he revealed to his beloved wife. It was shortly after this time that Anakin was met by Iguni who, after sharing a brief conversation with him, had a Force vision of Anakin's fall to the dark side; what Iguni did with this vision is unknown. Anakin sought Yoda's counsel about his intense, prophetic visions that someone close to him would die (he did not tell the Jedi Master that the "someone" is Padmé, his secret wife pregnant with his child). Yoda, unaware of the intensity of Anakin's love for Padmé, told him to "Train yourself to let go… of everything you fear to lose." Anakin was unsatisfied with this response.

As he continued to meet with Palpatine, the Chancellor slowly began to plant the seeds of the dark side in Anakin. Playing to his fear of Padmé's death, he told Anakin the story of a Sith Lord, Darth Plagueis, who was powerful enough to stop others from dying. Anakin listened intently. Eventually Palpatine revealed his true self, and offered Anakin the chance to learn the ways of the dark side and use its power to save Padmé. Anakin realized that Palpatine was Darth Sidious and promptly reported this to Windu, though he regretted his choice as Palpatine’s words tortured his mind. Windu, after instructing Anakin to remain at the Jedi Temple, went, with three other Jedi—Agen Kolar, Saesee Tiin, and Kit Fisto—to arrest the Chancellor. Palpatine fought with the Jedi, slaying three of them almost immediately. Only Windu remained. He and Palpatine continued to fight until the Jedi Master gained the advantage, pointing his weapon at the throat of the cowering Sith (although Palpatine appeared to have lost, this may have been intentional on his part for the purpose of gaining sympathy from Anakin, his hoped-for protégé). Back at the Jedi Temple, meanwhile, Anakin brooded over an overwhelming thought: with Palpatine's death, he would lose the chance to save his wife from the fate in his dreams.

A fateful choice

Tormented by thoughts of Padmé dying without the benefit of Palpatine's knowledge, Anakin rushed out of the Temple, grabbing an airspeeder and rushing to Palpatine’s location. He was uncertain what he was going to do, all he knew was he had to do something. Coincidentally, Anakin arrived just in time to see Windu preparing to kill Palpatine.

As if on cue, Palpatine attacked Windu with Force lightning while pleading to Anakin for help. Barely managing to deflect Palpatine's lightning, Windu screamed at Anakin not to listen. During the self-inflicted onslaught, Palpatine went through a physical transformation as he struggled to intensify his dark side powers with his own life force, his face becoming hideously deformed and his eyes turning yellow. Windu prevailed and expressed a desire to kill Palpatine and end the Sith; however, Anakin confronted him, stating that Palpatine must stand trial, and that to execute him was not the way of the Jedi. This was out of his regret for killing Dooku before in a similar situation, but clearly more out of his fear for losing the chance to save his wife from death. Windu ignored Anakin and prepared to kill Palpatine, but in haste and rashness, the panicked Anakin drew his lightsaber and severed Windu's right hand. Before Windu could respond, Palpatine used Force lightning to send the Jedi Master through the shattered window to his death.

Upon realizing the full significance of what he had just done, Anakin was stricken with guilt and questioned his actions, but was too emotionally drained and dazed to resist Palpatine, who stated that he was fulfilling his destiny. He further encouraged Anakin to embrace the dark side and become his apprentice. Anakin said he would do anything Palpatine desired; all he wanted was to save Padmé's life and his help to do so. Palpatine promised Anakin that, together, they could find the secret, tacitly admitting that he did not have the ability to hold back death. Anakin then pledged himself to the Sith Order, and Sidious endowed him with a new name: Darth Vader.

Rise of Darth Vader

Anakin Skywalker had been a wonderful Jedi until this choice to the dark path. He was confused. The only thing Anakin wanted to do was to keep his wife from dying. Palpatine had everyone caught up in a lie and convinced Anakin to become Darth Vader.

Raid on the Jedi Temple

Palpatine assured Vader that every Jedi was an enemy of the state, including Obi-Wan, and it would be endless civil war unless the Jedi were destroyed. Vader was ordered by the Sith Master that, if he wanted to gain enough power in the dark side to save Padmé, he was to lead the 501st Legion of clone troopers into the Jedi Temple and kill every Jedi inside. He did this without question, slaughtering venerable Jedi and younglings alike. Some of the Jedi children even approached him, unaware that he was to be their destroyer. The atrocities committed by Vader and the 501st Legion resulted in smoke rising from the pillars of the Jedi Temple, easily visible from the Senate building. This would be the start of the Great Jedi Purge.

Mission to Mustafar

Anakin, now known as Darth Vader, deeply immersed in the dark side of the Force.Soon after the newly crowned Lord Vader's assault on the Jedi Temple he returned to his master for further instruction. Sidious then commanded Vader to travel to the nearby planet Mustafar, where he was to kill the Separatist Council and bring peace to the soon-to-be-founded Empire. Vader obeyed, embracing his hatred and anger. By now, his transformation into Vader was almost complete.

He landed on the planet Mustafar, using Sidious's codes to pass through the Separatist's security. Vader left R2-D2 with his fighter so that his actions were neither witnessed nor recorded. Vader entered the room in which the Separatist leaders were and closed all of the doors, preventing any council member from escaping. At first, several of the leaders warmly welcomed him, before they recognized his overly publicized face. In their surprise, the corrupted Vader then began his massacre of the Separatist Council.

After callously dismembering all the members, he turned to the last one left—Nute Gunray, Sidious's former ally who had invaded and occupied Naboo before being defeated by Anakin thirteen years before. Before he died, Gunray pleaded with Vader, claiming that Lord Sidious had promised they would be left in peace; however, Vader killed him, replying that the Dark Lord had meant him to be left in pieces. His mission accomplished, the Sith Lord silently exited the room.

Outside, overlooking the turbulent volcanic terrain, Vader contemplated his transformation and convinced himself that all he had done was for the benefit of the Republic. While doing so, he remembered his Master's order to communicate with him as soon as the enemy was defeated. During this, he thought of how soon he planned for their positions to be changed, and how soon he would kill the Dark Lord—just as soon as he discovered a way to preserve life. Darth Sidious warned Vader of danger before he cut off communication. Thinking him only joking, as the only thing coming in was his wife's ship, he left the bunker to meet her. He planned to keep her outside as he did not wish for her to see the carnage within. When Padmé's ship landed, Anakin quickly transformed his dark features to those of the Anakin Skywalker his wife had fallen in love with.

Darth…Vader

Serving the Emperor

A year later, while recovering from his wounds, Vader was forced to return to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He arrived to find Inquisitor Malorum having difficulties with intruders. Vader ridiculed Malorum for having difficulty in capturing the reported intruders, much to the chagrin of the Inquisitor, who had plans of replacing Vader as the Emperor's crony. Vader even went as far as to suggest that Malorum blow up the Temple to ensure the intruders' deaths, though he knew very well that the Inquisitor would not even attempt to. The two also quarreled about Malorum's lack of dealing with the secret resistance group, the Erased. When Malorum mentioned to Vader his findings on Polis Massa, the Sith Lord held him in a Force choke and his anger started to cave-in the walls of the room, exposing Ferus Olin, a former rival of his, and his companion Trever Flume. As a result of Malorum's failure to capture the intruders, Vader let the pair escape.

In the same year, Vader secretly trained an apprentice, whom he would assign to hunt down and destroy fugitive Jedi. This apprentice was part of a secret plot to overthrow Palpatine.

A short time afterwards, Vader was ordered by the Emperor to go to the planet Samaria, where sabotage of the computer systems had caused the planet to go into chaos. While searching for the saboteur, he again ran into Ferus Olin. This time, however, Olin had the protection of the Emperor and could not be arrested. After this meeting, though, Vader had plenty to think about.

Some time later, Vader was assigned to the Imperial garrison on Bellassa. However, after cutting down Roan Lands—one of The Eleven resistance members—and once more exposing Olin's treachery, the Emperor intervened on Olin's behalf and reassigned Vader to a troublesome garrison under construction in the Bellassan mountains.

Many of Vader's early missions were ordered by the Emperor himself. These early missions included punishing the clone commandos who prevented the execution of Order 66 on Murkhana, slaying a group of Jedi Knights who had tried to set a trap for him on Kessel, apprehending the dissident Senator Fang Zar on Alderaan, and a trip to the planet Kashyyyk to oversee the enslavement of the Wookiees after Vader tracked a group of Jedi there. A notable mission was to the planet Honoghr, devastated by the Separatist toxin Trihexalophine1138 during the Clone Wars. He promised the native Noghri that the Empire would restore Honoghr's ecosystem in exchange for their service to the Empire as assassins.

Vader piloted a black-hued Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor during some of his early missions for Palpatine as the Great Jedi Purge continued, sometimes flanked by Alpha-3 Nimbus-class V-wing starfighters. His personal command ship during this time was the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer Exactor.

Vader's most personal tasks were to find and eliminate survivors of Order 66. Among them were Empatojayos Brand, who was forced to live out the remainder of his life inside a pressure suit; An'ya Kuro, whom he knew from the Jedi Temple as "the Dark Woman"; Echuu Shen-Jon, thought to be dead but merely in self-imposed exile following his use of the dark side to defeat Separatist General Sev'rance Tann during the early days of the Clone Wars; and Halagad Ventor, from whom Vader learned the location of other Jedi survivors, including Qu Rahn. He later tracked down three missing Jedi from the planet Murkhana: Jedi Masters Roan Shryne, Bol Chatak, and Chatak's Padawan Olee Starstone, who managed to escape into hiding,Shaak Ti who survived the Raid on the Jedi Temple and went into hiding at Felucia, but later confronted Vader and his apprentice. However, the object of his most intense wrath, Obi-Wan Kenobi, managed to elude him, as Vader did not return to Tatooine out of fear of reawakening the buried persona of Anakin Skywalker.

Although in possession of great wealth and power, Vader allowed himself few comforts. Among those were his personal retreat on Coruscant and Bast Castle on Vjun. The 501st Legion, the stormtrooper division he led in the extermination of the Jedi at the Jedi Temple, became his personal guard. The actions they undertook in Vader's name over the course of the Civil War earned them the nickname of "Vader's Fist". In addition to these possessions, Vader took an apprentice to train in the ways of the Sith from a group of Jedi whom he had personally slaughtered on the planet Shumari. Having sensed anger in a young Tao, Vader chose to let him live and hid him from the Emperor in order to both protect him and have his own apprentice.

In 7 BBY, Vader led a research project on Falleen. His intent was to conduct tests for the construction of a biological weapon. However, there was an accident, which infected all areas surrounding the testing facility. As a precaution, Vader had the circumference of the area "sterilized," which included the destruction of around 200,000 Falleen, including the family of Prince Xizor. In the eyes of the Empire, the death of these Falleen was but a small price to pay, as it prevented the death of millions on the rest of the planet, and prevented a possible multi-planet epidemic.

In 1 BBY, Vader and Palpatine were the targets of a group of treacherous Imperial officers led by Grand Moff Trachta. Trachta saw the Sith as foolish and archaic, and believed that the Empire should not be ruled by a two-man cult. They planned to use a batch of altered stormtroopers loyal only to them to destroy the two Sith Lords. While the Emperor was dealing with the conspirators, Vader set out on a mission on his own to a distant world to locate a mysterious, powerful Jedi. But, instead of a Jedi Knight, he was confronted by a cadre of bounty hunters who had come to the conclusion that ganging up on—and defeating—the Sith Lord would bring them fame and fortune. With the help of another bounty hunter, Boba Fett, Vader quickly disposed of them and returned to find the conspirators' plot dismantled, in part because of internal fighting between the coconspirators.

Redemption

In 4 ABY, Vader was sent to the incomplete Death Star II to await the Emperor, who was coming for an inspection tour. After Palpatine's arrival, Vader was sent to command the Imperial Fleet guarding the Death Star, keeping it on the far side of Endor. It was here that he sensed the arrival of his son along with the Rebel strike team coming to destroy the shield generator that protected the Death Star. When he informed the Emperor of this, Palpatine advised him to go to Endor and await Luke.

Arriving on the eve of Luke's capture, Vader once again attempted to persuade Luke to join the dark side, but this time Vader's interests were tinged by a desire to protect his son. When this failed, Vader took him to Emperor Palpatine himself on the incomplete Death Star II. Luke reluctantly fought a lightsaber battle with Vader, matching Vader's mastery of Form V with his own display of Form V blade work, all the while attempting to persuade his father into renouncing the dark side of the Force. In allowing this to happen, Luke Skywalker risked everything in order to assure the victory of the Rebel Alliance and the redemption of his father to the light.

During this time, Palpatine relentlessly attempted to lure Luke to the dark side, tormenting him with thoughts of the defeat of the Rebel Alliance and the death of his friends. However, Luke continued to attempt to restrain himself from fighting his father. Vader, who had been probing Luke's thoughts, discovered that besides Luke he also had a daughter: Leia Organa, Luke's twin sister. Vader, happy at this new information he had acquired, decided to use this knowledge against Luke, threatening to corrupt Leia. Luke, enraged, ignited his lightsaber and viciously attacked Vader with anger and hatred. Finally, Luke sliced off Vader's mechanical right hand, defeating the Dark Lord. Palpatine, cackling with triumph, urged Luke to fulfill his destiny, and take his father's place at the Dark Lord's side. Vader then realized that he had been betrayed by Darth Sidious, just as Darth Tyranus had been betrayed twenty three years before.

Luke looked down to see his father's right severed arm, and, seeing that it was mechanical like his, he realized that he was about to become Vader's successor. Horrified at what he was about to do, Luke used a combination of Obi-Wan's and Yoda's teachings and the light side of the Force to calm himself down. Luke tossed his lightsaber away, refusing the Emperor's offer to join him as his new apprentice, declaring that he was a Jedi like his father before him. Enraged at the failure of his plans, the Emperor unleashed a barrage of Force lightning attacks upon Luke. Defiant to the end, Luke suffered the wrath of Palpatine, and Vader, in no condition to battle, could do no more than watch as Luke Skywalker lay dying.

But Anakin never forgot the pain Count Dooku had once inflicted upon him with the lethal power of Force lightning, and could not bear to see his son in such agony. He had been unable to save his mother, he had let Mace Windu die under his Master's power many years before, he had murdered hundreds of Jedi, he had lost his best friend, he thought he unwittingly killed his wife, but he could save his son. Anakin Skywalker would not stand by and let his son fall. From this moment on, Darth Vader was no more, and Anakin Skywalker was reborn.

In a final effort of self-sacrifice, Anakin literally overthrew his Master, lifting him off the ground with his great strength, and casting him down the Death Star's reactor shaft to his death. However, it was at the cost of his own life. Anakin was badly wounded in the process by the Emperor's Force lightning, and his breathing apparatus short-circuited. Yet this single act brought him back to the light side.

Luke, attempting to save his father's life, dragged the dying Anakin to the hangar where his shuttle lay. Anakin, knowing that he would die whether or not Luke managed to get him onto a ship, stopped his son.

Nearing death, Anakin asked Luke to help him remove his mask, so that he could see his son with his own eyes, not through the lens filters of his mask. Luke helped disconnect the mask and saw his father's face for the first time. Beneath, Anakin Skywalker was bald, his hair follicles having been incinerated in Mustafar's flames, and the wounds from Mustafar's heat had not yet healed. However, his eyes were no longer the burning yellow of a Sith Lord, but the shining blue of his former self. Anakin told Luke that he was right about him, there was good still in him; and to tell his sister, Leia, the same. With these last words, Anakin Skywalker died and became one with the Force. His last words behind the mask of Vader were especially telling as well-in response to Luke's protest that he would die without the mask, Vader responded "Nothing can stop that now." These words constituted a final rejection of the lying promises of his master Darth Sidious, and a full embrace of the light side of the Force once again.

The Death of Vader

Luke escaped the exploding Death Star in a shuttle along with his father's armor and artificial remains, and reached the forest moon of Endor where Darth Vader's armor was cremated in the manner of a Jedi, since Anakin's body had passed into the light. During the celebration, Luke saw a vision of a forgiven Anakin; whole, and without the artificial body of Vader. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda were next to him. His destiny fulfilled, Anakin Skywalker had passed on into the embrace of the light side of the Force.

From the rise of Kaan to the Seventh Battle of Ruusan

From this point on, the tradition of a sole "Dark Lord of the Sith" ended. At the time of the Ruusan campaign there were a total of twenty-six Sith Lords who held the title in conjuncture with their leader, Kaan. Among them were:

Later, the students of the Sith Academy were also elevated to the rank, including:

Darth Bane
Githany
Sirak

Darth Bane's Reformed Order

In Bane's reformed order, two Sith held the title at the time, the only two living members of the order in the entire galaxy: a Master and an apprentice. In addition to Darth Bane, members of this order included:

The Sith Lord who paved the way for Great Jedi War

EMPEROR PALPATINE-DARTH SIDIOUS

Palpatine, also known as Darth Sidious, was the last Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and the first Emperor of the Galactic Empire. He was also the final Dark Lord of the Sith who followed the Rule of Two and was considered by many to be the most powerful Sith Lord who ever existed.[5] Palpatine was able to establish his Empire by concocting a complex master plan, which involved starting the Clone Wars, a galaxy-wide conflict that cost billions of sentient lives. Palpatine himself headed both the Galactic Republic and, secretly, the Confederacy of Independent Systems, which allowed him to prolong the conflict in order to gain more executive powers from the Senate.

When his power as Chancellor had reached its peak, Palpatine abolished the Republic and replaced it with the first Galactic Empire with himself as leader. With the Imperialization of the galaxy, Palpatine effectively had total control over its people, and was able to create one of the most powerful military forces the galaxy had ever seen. For nineteen years, Palpatine's rule would go relatively unopposed, until disgruntled former Imperial senators founded the Alliance to Restore the Republic. The Galactic Civil War would last for many years, but in 4 ABY, he was killed by Anakin Skywalker, his former Sith apprentice, during the Battle of Endor. However, this did not mean the end of the Empire.

His spirit traveled to Byss, where he inhabited a clone body that he had prepared beforehand. Six years after his first death at Endor, he launched a massive offensive from the Deep Core—one that came close to destroying the New Republic. The victories, however, would not last long, as Palpatine's clones were sabotaged by the former Emperor's Royal Guard, Carnor Jax. Palpatine was killed one final time during his attempt to possess Anakin Solo's body on Onderon, when, after Han Solo shot him, Empatojayos Brand, a former Jedi Knight, bound his soul to Palpatine's, dragging Palpatine deep into the depths of the Force.